Trap.



W. F. ALDERMAN.

TRAP.

APPLICATION rILBD Nov..16,191*2.

l, 108,657. Patented Aug. 25, 191% WWIIl ,W MWI WW HW unirsi) 'STATES PATENT onirica-1.

, V I: 'HM-*Pw Specification of Letters Patent.

Application ledlNoveinber 16, 1912. Serial No. 731,1754.

Patented Aug .,25, 1914.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. Amicu- MAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lake Park, in the vcounty of Lowndes and State of Georgia, have4 invented new and useful Improvements in Traps,of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to traps and has for an object to provide a trap for catching rats and other rodents.

rl`he invention embodies, among other features, a casing adapted to rest upon a container and provided with a spring engaged trap door normally closing an opening in the bottom of the casing and which, when an animal passes through an opening in the Y top of the casing and strikes the trap door,

will swing downwardly by the weight of the animal, thus uncovering the opening in the bottom of the casing so that the animal will fall therethrough into the container upon which the said casing is mounted.

ln the further disclosure of the invention reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, constituting a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional view; and Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the casing.

' the casing and the opening Refering more particularly to the views, use is made of a` casing 10 adapted to repose upon a container 11 provided with an opening 12 registering with an opening 13 formed 1n the bottom of the casing 10,. the said casing 10 having an opening 14 in the u per face thereof and immediately above t e openings 12 and 13 with upper faces 15 of the casing 10 inclined away from the opening 15, as showrv A tray door 16 is mounted to swing on the casing 10, the said tra door bein engaged by a spring 17 secure to the un erside of the casing 10 to normall hold the trap door in position to close t e opening 13 in 12 in the container, withl opposed portions or edges of the trap door rojecting through the opening 12 vexterior y of the containerosaid trap door ormin Va portion offthe ottomof l the casing with a hook 18 arranged to project upwardly fromgthe inner end of the' trap doorl'and'adapted to Yreceivea suitable bait.

In the use of the device described the casing 10 is placed upon the container 1l so that the openings 12, 13 and 14 will register and when the animal passes through the opening 14 to remove the bait on the hook 18, the weight of the animal on the trap door 16 will overcome the tension of the 'spring 17, thus causing the trap door 16 to swing downwardly and :uncover the opening 13, thus causing the animal to fall through the openings .13 and 14 and into the container 11. By referring to the views it will be readily seen that at the moment the animal, after passin through the openings 13 and 14, is free o the trap door 16, the tension of the spring 17 will cause the trap door 16 to return to normal position and close the opening 13 in the casing 10 and the trap will be ready for another animal, it being further seen that the bait secured to the hook 18 will be undisturbed, thus obviating the necessity of rebaiting the trap each time that an animal is caught Having thus described my invention, I claim:

ln a rat trap, the combination withl a substantially rectangular container having a plane upper face provided with a central opening, of a casing reposing on the upper face of the container and provided with an outlet opening registering with the opening y lying immediately above the outlet opening and the opening' inthe. container, a trag i door formed of a sin e at plate mounts to swing on the casing beneath the inlet opening, with the point of ivotal connection of the trap door with 't e casin lying within the horizontal plane of the ottom of the casing and with the trap door roper lying within the horizontal plane oft e top of the container with edges of the trap door projecting through the uncovered portions ofl the opening 1n the 'contalnor and the said trap door normally closing 4the peater ACn art ofthe opening in the container, a. bait Eo'ok ortied y the trap door and projecting from its upper face to normally lie within the casing, and -a. Ulshnpedspring having its ends secured to the casing on the under side thereof and on a. portion of the casing projecting across the opening of the container, with 4la.V medial spring engaging the under side of the trap portion of the door `and coiled dportions ofthq spring be- 10 tween its ends.` epending within the container through the opening formed therein.

In testimony-whereof I- aiix my signature in, presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM F. ALDERMAN.

' Witnesses:

E. J. ZIPPERER, I-LS. STALVEY. 

